INDIA COP BODY BLOW ... JUST FOR OPENERS
SHATTERED Indian prodigy Prithvi Shaw has barely uttered a word since being told he was ruled out of the first Test against Australia and is now racing a clock to play a part in the series.
In a blow to India’s hopes of winning a Test series on Australian soil for the first time in history, Shaw suffered lateral ligament damage to his left ankle attempting a catch on the boundary during a sleepy tour match against the CA XI at the SCG.
Talked up as the next Sachin Tendulkar even by his own coach, superstar opener Shaw is undoubtedly the best young talent in world cricket and his loss could shake the confidence of a team that has a notoriously poor record away from the subcontinent.
Shaw left the SCG on a medicab and returned from scans in a moonboot and on crutches to confirm fears.
The 19-year-old ball of energy that has ignited the Indian dressing room since making a hundred on debut earlier this year has been extinguished in what could be a seismic moment in the context of the Test series starting next week in Adelaide.
“He has not spoken much. It has hit him pretty hard. Young boy who has come to play in Australia for the first time, had a dream start to his Test career, so it’s hit him pretty hard,” veteran spinner Ravi Ashwin said.
“He is feeling a bit sore and it has swollen up a little bit. It’s sad that it happened.”